


Chained To You

by CaptnSlash



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, But It All Counts, Derek is Injured, M/M, Possibly Pre-Slash, Reaper Stiles Stilinski, Spoiler Alert: No One Dies, reaper!stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-31
Updated: 2019-01-31
Packaged: 2019-10-19 16:39:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17605013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaptnSlash/pseuds/CaptnSlash
Summary: Stiles comforts an injured Derek as his death approaches. As a reaper, it's his job to prepare souls for their transition into the afterlife, but Stiles' feelings for the werewolf may throw a wrench into the grand design of life and death.Take place after season 3A.





	Chained To You

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came to me and it wouldn't go away until I wrote it down. It's un-beta'd and all mistakes are my own. I hope you like it. 
> 
> Please let me know if you think I forgot to tag something.  
> The title comes from "Chained To You" by Savage Garden.

“Laura would have liked you.”

Stiles looked into Derek’s eyes. Derek looked exhausted, but that was to be expected since he’d just spent fifteen minutes fighting for his life. He took the beta’s hand and squeezed it gently. “I met her. She loved me.”

The color drained from Derek’s face. His green eyes were locked onto Stiles, but they looked a little cloudy and dull. “What? When you were a kid?”

“I met her last year. I found her in the preserve the night she died. I’m the one that crossed her over.” 

Stiles saw how confused Derek was. He’d never told anyone the truth about himself. He hadn’t even told his father. He became a reaper the night his mother passed away. Claudia Stilinski was the first soul he led into the afterlife.

“Laura was scared and she didn’t want to go, so I sat with her for a few hours while she told me her story. She explained about the fire, about the man she had a crush on back in New York, and the great big family secret. She even told me about her annoying little brother back in New York.”

Derek’s breathing became labored and he lost the strength in his arms, but Stiles refused to let go of his hand. He wanted Derek to know he was there for him, that he was safe and never as alone as he thought he was. “She asked me to find her body that night. She…she didn’t want you to see her like that, but I can’t find bodies. That’s Lydia’s thing.”

“Y-you’re a reaper?” Derek asked. He coughed a few times to clear his lungs, but it wasn’t very effective.

Hearing the term for what he was surprised Stiles. His kind were relegated to the pages of some of the oldest books, the kind of tomes that aren’t easily available to emissaries or hunters. Everyone always thinks he’s the angel of death because that’s what’s known in the common vernacular. No one has ever called him a reaper.

“You’ve heard of us? Yeah, I’m a reaper. It’s pretty common on my mother’s side of the family and I guess I inherited it. My powers manifested the same night my mother died. Ever since then, I feel a pull when a soul is almost ready to cross over. I usually show up as someone is dying, maybe even a few minutes before. It’s my job to make people comfortable so that their souls can transition.”

Stiles let his fingers card through Derek’s dark hair. It was matted down at strange angles because of the blood seeping from Derek’s head wound. “I’m the only one in Beacon Hills. Do you think every city has a reaper? It sounds impossible, right? Maybe there are territories where we operate, like districts or whatever. That makes more sense, I think.”

Derek’s shoulders went tense when he started coughing up blood. He wiped the back of his hand off on his jeans, but his extremities were twitching from the blood loss. “Stiles, everyone that’s died…?”

Stiles knew what he was being asked. He was aware of the fact that he could lie and pretend, but he was tired of keeping it all to himself. Out of everyone, he figured Derek Hale deserved the truth. He’d earned it a dozen times over as far as Stiles was concerned.

“Yep. I crossed over Isaac’s dad after the kanima did the deed. Matt cussed at me for ten minutes when it was his turn, but I think he was scared more than he was angry. Saying goodbye to Tara was hard, but she told me that she was glad that she got a chance to say goodbye. This job isn’t easy, but it’s not all bad. I can’t sense death like Lydia can. I only know when it’s time to help a soul move on, but I’m not powerless. That’s why I’m here with you.”

Derek’s breathing turned shallow and Stiles knew it was almost time for Derek Hale to die. The alpha seemed to sense that he was close to the end, but he didn’t understand why. “What happened?”

“You were attacked a few minutes ago. Don’t you remember?”

Derek looked down at his torn and bloody clothes. The pain returned as soon as Stiles stopped touching him. Derek groaned and his body went stiff as the full extent of his injuries re-entered his awareness. Stiles placed his hand on the spot where Derek’s shoulder met his neck and the pain vanished once again. 

“What…did you do?”

Stiles could see the guy searching his arm for any black veins to signal that he was taking his pain, but there weren’t any visible lines there.

“It’s one of my powers,” Stiles explained. “It helps people feel calm and at peace so that their transition is easier. I sensed that it was your time, Derek, but everything’s okay now. You’re safe; I’ve got you and I’m never letting you go.”

Derek furrowed his brows as he thought over everything that Stiles was telling him. “You can do that? I can stay here with you?”

Stiles knew it was risky, but he wasn’t ready to let go of Derek. He wasn’t ready to lose him.

“It’s against the rules, but I figure you’ve earned a reprieve. We’ll call it a reward for your heroism and bravery, yeah? Someone up there must agree because it’s already done. I’ll block most of your pain while you heal up, okay?”

“You won’t leave?”

“I won’t leave,” Stiles promised. “I’ll never leave you, Derek. The truth about what I am has to stay a secret though. You can’t tell anyone else about me. You and Lydia are the only ones that can know.”

“Why? Why would you save me?”

Stiles ignored the tears welling in his own eyes as he looked down at Derek. They made his vision blurry until he wiped them off on his sleeve. “Because I love you, idiot.” He started to panic when Derek looked up. He forced himself to turn away even though it hurt to do so. “I-I can make you forget all of this if you want. You’ll wake up and just think you had a pretty close call.”

“Don’t make me forget,” Derek pleaded. “I want to remember this. I want to remember the first time you told me you love me.”

Stiles felt the blush move up his neck and over his cheeks. “That’s how I kept you here,” he confessed, his voice almost a whisper. “My love for you is so strong that it tethered you to me, to this plane of existence. I know it was selfish. I know you were probably looking forward to seeing Laura and your parents, but I can’t lose you. Not yet.”

Derek smiled and Stiles couldn’t help but notice that he was breathing easier. The color had returned to his cheeks and his eyes were looked glossy again. Seeing Derek’s smile took his breath away. 

“I love you, too, Stiles. I’ve been in love with you for a while.”

Stiles was very confused. “You never said anything.”

“You’re seventeen years old,” Derek responded. “I didn’t think I was good enough for you and you’re so young, Stiles. You deserve the world and I don’t want to be the reason that you don’t follow your dreams. I don’t want to tie you down.”

Stiles placed his hand on Derek’s jaw and he leaned down so he could place a kiss to the man’s forehead. “You would never do that to me, Derek. You don’t tie me down. You lift me up, okay? Every day I wake up I try to be worthy of you, of your attention and your time, of your trust and your respect. I want to be the person you can always count on.”

“You are,” Derek admitted. “You’ve been my anchor for a while.”

Stiles grinned. “You’re my anchor, too, big guy. Rest for a while, okay? I’ll be here when you wake up and then you can ask me out on a real date.”

“That sounds perfect,” Derek admitted. 

Stiles couldn’t agree more.


End file.
